Wednesday, December 12, 2012

More Civil War-Era St. Louis Baseball Clubs

A match game of base ball came off on Thursday afternoon, between the Laclede and Young Commercial Base Ball Clubs, which resulted in a victory for the former.

A match game was also played yesterday afternoon on Gamble Lawn, between the St. Louis and Missouri Base Ball Clubs, which resulted in the defeat of the former.

-Missouri Republican, May 7, 1864

We continue to discover more baseball clubs that played in St. Louis during the Civil War.

I was aware that the Lacledes had organized in 1861 but this is the first evidence that I think I've ever seen of them playing a match during the war years. The Young Commercials, I have always assumed, were the same club as the Commercial Juniors, who I knew were active during the war, but I should really look into that more. And here we also find evidence of the existence, during the war, of the St. Louis and Missouri Clubs.

I should also point out that the St. Louis/Missouri match is more evidence of the popularity of Gamble Lawn as a site of games during the war.

This blog is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. It's a stiff. Bereft of life. It rests in peace. Its metabolic processes are now history. It's kicked the bucket. It's shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain, and joined the bleedin' choir eternal. This is an ex-blog.

Welcome To TGOG

The goal of this blog is to tell the story of the history of 19th century St. Louis baseball and to serve as a resource for 19th century baseball researchers. It is, essentially, an online research journal. If you have any comments, criticisms or suggestions, feel free to contact me at thisgameofgames@gmail.com.

The research is, as always, ongoing.

"Baseball is the very symbol, the outward and visible expression of the drive and push and rush and struggle of the raging, tearing, booming nineteenth century." Mark Twain, 1889.